WEATHER PROBLEM

Hokitika Guardian, 22 April 1932, Page 8

WEATHER PROBLEM

INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR

•SCIENTIFIC STUDIES,

WELLINGTON, April 20

The .advanced stage has been reached in the plans for what is known as the “mternational- polar year,” which is timed to start at midnight on August 1 this year and will last precisely 12 months.

The polar year of 1932-33 is the second period to be so called—it marks the exact jubilee of 'the first polar year of 1382-83—and i: may be defined as a year sot apart for collective effort in the extension of knowledge of i worldwide meteorological and magnetic processes, with especial reference to the phenomena of, the polar regions.

As most civilised nations -and thus the majority of highly-organised meteorological services—are in the Northern Hemisphere, whose geography moreover makes polar observations far less difficult than does that oi the Southern Hemisphere, it is inevitable that work •will b* concentrated on •die north polar regions, only a few scattered centres of observation being maintained in the far south.

Although the results of the first polar year were both copious and important, the science of meteorology—in particular fhe .study of weather lorecasting—was too much in ids infancy f■ ,r more than a small fraction of what is now known to he the scope of possible research to be dealt with or even attempted, and it will lie reaI'sed that the forthcoming polar year is none too long a period for tlm w'de fi-M of ionuirie.s open to meteorological investigators.

ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS. Fortunately meteorology is a science depending to a large extent on the analysis of statistics—such as ' those of temperature, rainfall and wind direction —and it will thus be feasible for members of the various • research expeditions to devote a large proportion of their time to the collection of systematic records which can then be analysed at leisure over a period of years. In other words, the polar year itself is only the embryo from which a ■series of important discoveries is almost certain eventually to develop. Vs it is believed that the explanation of many fundamental problems of - ' ontology is to he found in high latitudes alone, the essence of the scheme is the establishment of a network of observation stations in a ring round the North Pole. Complete ' details are not yet available, but it appears that Denmark, France and Holland will co-operate in maintaining a series of .special stations in Greenland ; Ice--1 ”>d will m ! d<° .svstom ■■■'ic observations with the aid of the Carnegie Institute of Washington ; Norway, Sweden and Finland will look after the West Euro-! pe-an sector; Russia will provide a 1 large- number of stations stretching | from Novaya Zemplya to the River | Lena, and the United States will sponsor stations in Alaska and at Fort Conger. Great Britain's chief share is to co-operate with Canada in pursuing a comprehensive programme of research at Fort Rae, on the Marian Lake extension of the Great Slave Lake in j Canada.

THE BRITISH BASK. iAis the ba.se for the British expedition, Foiv 'Rae |has two t<rc a ii t advantages. It i.s the site of tlie British station during the first polar year, so that its adoption for 1932-33 will permit '.he data obtained on the awo occasion* to be strictly comparable, thus helping to enable any general eTTmatie changes to Ire detected, and, as was not then known it is almost in the zone of maximum frequency of aurora. The second fact is highly significant, for polar year researches are by no means confined to meteorology in tlie narrow sense, but also embrace the important phenomena of terrestrial magnetism and atmospheric electricity, both of which are thought to he closely connected with the appearance ol aurora. It is indeed quite likely that tie present unexplained formation of “nnti-cyeJones" and ‘'depressions" is ultimately due to electrical condi ions so that a clear understanding of these conditions would make long-range forecasting scientifically possible.

A TAfOSPII EH IC K LKCTR IOI T Y . The well-known effect's of atimrpheric electricity will also lie investigated—with reference ho (heir fundamental eauses—as part of the polar year programme and Professor K. V. Appleton, F.R.S., Wheatstone, professor of Physics at the University of London, will lead a special expedition to 'I rom- •> for electrical research. The main British expedition to Fni'f will he led bv Mr •!. M. Stagg, > senior professional as.islant ol tbfMeleoi’ologieal Office. a”d will, it is